Raabe 16 kills, Wagner chips in with 11
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The Michigan Tech volleyball team swept Parkside 3-0 on Friday at the SDC Gym. The Huskies won 27-25, 25-13, and 25-22 to improve to 12-10 overall and 6-6 in the GLIAC.
“It was an important match for our team. After a game like Wednesday you want to bounce back,” Tech coach Matt Jennings said. “We were able to come back and pull out that first set and then ride that momentum into the second.”
The Huskies got down by six in the opening set and had to mount a comeback to tie it at 18. Parkside had a pair of setpoints but Rachel Zurek had a kill and then teamed up with Kaycee Meiners on a block to extend the set. The duo added another block before Jacqueline Yancy put down the winner.
Tech dominated the second, hopping out to a 13-3 lead and never looking back. Meg Raabe and Paige Wagner combined for nine kills, and the Huskies defense held Parkside to a -.023 hitting percentage.
There were seven ties and three lead changes in the third. The Huskies used a 6-2 run to take a 23-19 advantage. The Rangers didn’t go quietly with a late 4-0 rally, but Tech closed out the match with a block by Tess Hayes and Kaycee Meiners and then the winning kill by Meg Raabe.
Meg Raabe tallied a match-high 16 kills while Paige Wagner was also in double figures with 11. Rachel Zurek added eight kills, and Makena Wesol chipped in with five.
Tess Hayes set the attack with 36 assists and is now seven shy of 2,000 for her career. She also added 15 digs. Brynn Erickson went for a career-high with 22 digs. Amelia Albers (13 digs) and Jacqueline Yancy (12 digs) were also in double figures defensively.
Tech wraps up its home schedule at 3 p.m. on Saturday against Purdue Northwest. The four seniors will be honored after the match as Ashley L’Esperance, Kaycee Meiners, Abbi Perkins and Riley Stichter will play their final regular season match at the SDC Gym.
